Peter J. Leithart

INTRODUCTION Two Marys, Mary Magdalene and the “other Mary,” the mother of Jesus, have stayed with Jesus through His death and burial.  They are back after the Sabbath, and become the first witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus. THE TEXT “Now after the Sabbath, as the first . . . . Continue Reading »

The craftsmen who throw down the “horns” that have scattered Judah (Zechariah 1:18-21) are like the craftsmen that built the tabernacle and temple.  They are destroying horns (of an altar), and so gaining the victory over the Gentiles. Zechariah gives a neat little verbal twist to . . . . Continue Reading »

Zechariah 1:21 (Hebrew 2:4) has a neat, sort-a-chiastic structure.  In answer to Zechariah’s question, Yahweh (v. 20) says that the craftsmen come to bring down the horns of the Gentiles. A. These are horns B. Which scatter Judah C. So that a man does not lift his head A’. These . . . . Continue Reading »

In an earlier post, I noted that Zechariah 1:2 pictures Israel as hemmed in by Yahweh’s anger: Anger-fathers-anger is the word order. Zechariah 1:14 does the same.  Zechariah’s message to Israel is qinne’ti liyrushalaim (jealous I am to Jerusalem) ultziyyon qin’ah . . . . Continue Reading »

Meredith Kline has argued that the entire book of Zechariah is organized as a pair of “diptychs,” each of which “hinges” on a passage about the work of the King-Shepherd of Israel.  The entire book itself, moreover,  is a diptych, hinging around the crowning of Joshua . . . . Continue Reading »

Richard Davidson ( Flame of Yahweh: Sexuality in the Old Testament ) notes the connections between Song of Songs 8:6 and Daniel 7:9-10.  The two passages are “intertextual twins”: “In immediate succession, three times flames/fire are mentioned, matching (in Aramaic) almost . . . . Continue Reading »

Francis Landy ( Paradoxes of Paradise: Identity and Difference in the Song of Songs (Bible and Literature Series) ) argues that the phrase shalhebetyah in Song of Songs 8:6 should be taken as a reference to Yah’s own flame, and he connects the fire of Yah in the sanctuary with the fire of Yah . . . . Continue Reading »

Jill Munro’s Spikenard and Saffron: The Imagery of the Song of Songs (Jsot Supplement Series) is superb.  Though written originally as a dissertation, Munro has cleared out the apparatus and provided an uncluttered and concise discussion of the Song’s imagery.  She finds three . . . . Continue Reading »

Robert Alter ( The Song of Songs: The World’s First Great Love Poem (Modern Library Classics) ) notes the variety of imagery in the Song of Songs, which “translates that bodily reality into fresh springs, flowering gardens, highlands over which lithe animals bound, spices and wine, . . . . Continue Reading »

Zechariah 1:2 has a neat bit of text-painting.  The verse uses the root “be angry” ( qatzaph ) twice.   That of course gives the term emphasis.  Yahweh is not merely angry; He’s ANGRY! The verse is surrounded by the root qatzaph so that the verse reads: “Angry . . . . Continue Reading »